Motor vehicles typically include various interior panels such as in the passenger compartment area of the motor vehicle to provide various functions and/or aesthetics. Non-limiting examples of interior panels include instrument panels, door panels, consoles, glove box doors, roof liners, and the like. Many of these interior panels include a substrate for structure and a decorative or aesthetically desirable finish overlying the substrate.
The passenger compartment areas of motor vehicles are also typically insulated from annoying sounds that may be transmitted, for example, through the frame and body of the vehicle. These sounds often originate from the tires as they interact with the road surface, from external wind, or from the operation of the engine and other mechanical parts of the vehicle. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,918,313 issued to Gross et al., acoustic blankets or pads are installed in a passenger compartment just behind the vehicle interior panels. The acoustic blankets or pads serve to dampen, block, absorb or attenuate unwanted road noise and external sounds. Unfortunately, the acoustic blankets or pads are in addition to the vehicle interior panels and can be expensive, requiring additional labor to install, and generally add weight without providing any structural benefit to the interior panels.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide interior panels with improved properties such as sound deadening to reduce or eliminate the need for acoustic blankets or pads to acoustically insulate the passenger compartment from annoying sounds, and methods for making such interior panels. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.